Thoughts... and stuff.

So, instead of studying like I should be, I've been thinking.

Everytime I pull out my knitting among a group of friends, I always get asked, "Why do you knit?" I always reply, "Because it's soothing." And it is. But I think there's a little more than that. In the past year or so, knitting has become a type of retreat from the hectic world in which we live. With everyone in such a hurry to get from one place to another, it can be a relaxing change to simply sit and knit.

Knitting is mystifying. To watch a ball of yarn become transformed into a piece of fabric. To watch that fabric evolve into a functional (or sometimes not so functional) garment. To know that it was all done using two pointy sticks! Think about it for a minute: it's an absolutely incredible thing! This craft that we engage in is completely magical and surreal. If you don't believe me, go to a non-knitter and hold up a piece of your knitting. I have full confidence that they will be utterly speechless and dumbfounded by it, wondering how you manipulate such simple tools into something so complex. Sometimes I am speechless. (usually when I'm looking at my own work it's because it's so ugly. But when I look at YOUR work it's because it's absolutely amazing!)

As a university studnet, I tend to stress alot. And what do I get out of all this stressing? Mountains of notes taken from lectures and written papers that aren't worth a second glance. After my 4 years at university, what will I have to show for all the work I've done? A piece of paper that says I am smarter and more knowledgable than when I started. But am I really smarter and more knowledgable? What have I learned? How much have I learned? How do we go about measuring this learning? When I emerge from several weeks bent over a piece of knitting, I can hold up a finished product. I can tell you when I started and when I ended, the materials I used and how much time I spent on it. Anyone who cares can examine the piece of knitting and evaulate it for quality. I can say I have accomplished something and I have proof of that accomplishment. I can even type of a piece of paper documenting it if I want!

While all these reasons are true and wonderful... I think I knit because I'm greedy. I love the idea of adding another piece of clothing (or assessory) to my wardrobe and I can pursue that love through knitting. Okay, let's pause here for a minute because I know that knitting is least efficient way to go about wardrobe-enhancement. It's expensive, it's time consuming, it can be frustrating, and you never know if it'll turn out exactly how you want it. Sometimes I want to pull out my hair because something isn't knitting up how I want it. It takes me a good month to finish a sweater. And my bank account is truely suffering as I try to supply my need to knit. If I want wardrobe-enhancement, I really should just take a trip to the mall (which I do, regularly). Yet, despite all these drawbacks, I like the idea of creating a piece of clothing and knowing exactly how it came to be. I like wearing a new sweater and have my friends ooh-ing and ahh-ing over it. And I know this makes no sense whatsoever, but there are something I would NEVER buy at a store but I have no problems knitting up. (For an example, please refer to the Matrix scarf... or for that matter, any other scarf I have ever knit)

So to recap, I knit because it takes my mind off of the other stresses of life and replaces it with knitting stresses. I knit because I'm greedy and I want more clothes. I knit because I like attention and I want people to faun over me. Yes, that's why I knit.